Thursday, September 13, 2007

Compact database in Access 2007

I am not a frequent Access 2007 user yet, but using it from time to time. And always wondering – why do we get such a non-trivial menu (or ribbon) structure. Today I wanted to compact database. And I was not able to find such button. Same time I remembered that I had already looked for it, and had found, but no luck today. Google always helps in such cases, this time I found a tip from Tom Wickerath, Access MVP:

Click on the round Office button thingy that you should see in the upper left corner. Then click on Manage in the list. You should see Compact and Repair Database at the top of this listing.

Why it there??? Several versions it was in Database Utilities, and now it get hidden in other place. If it was important to have it in Manage menu – I would jut put it in 2 places, with respect to former Access users…

Very good article for using compact and repair utility in help in Microsoft Access. It helps me to solve several. If data corruption is extreme and compact and repair utility not able to repair then you can use access repair software. For for information http://officerepair.wordpress.com

Just so everyone knows, you can actually add it to your Quick Access Toolbar by doing the following:

Click the Windows circle, Access Options (at the bottom right of the menu), Select Customize and change the "Choose commands from:" dropdown to "All Commands", navigate to Compact and Repair Database, click the Add button to add it to the "Customize Quick Access Toolbar" list.

This puts the Compact and Repair button in the same toolbar as the save, undo, and redo buttons.

Hi all,this is indeed a very good question? I am not a person who is against changes, but today I actually wasted a lot of time until I found the solution in this website. Just imagine, next time you buy a car you find the parking breaks underneath your seat and wonder what's making such a pressure when you drive over hump!

Thanks so much! I've been using MS Access since 2.0 and I just spent over an hour trying to figure this out and I also ran across the article you mentioned on microsofts sight. UGH! Anyways thanks so much!

Thanks for sharing such good information. It really helpful to every MS office user. But sometime the data is badly corrupted then you are not able to repair your data directly. During that time you need access repair software that repair and recover your data.

Here's the thing... If MS wants to shuffle things around like crazy, you would think a simple "Help" search on "Compact and repair database" would return a hit on where the damn thing is now hidden!! Office 2007 is driving me insane. I once spent about 1 hour trying to find out how to drag a point on an Excel plot, only to find out that MS didn't think that feature was useful and decided to remove it from 2007. I guess they needed more computer resources for the 2 quatrizillion color gradients on those plots!

Here's an interactive guide to find where 2003 buttons are in 2007; click "Start the guide"Access>>>http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/access-help/interactive-access-2003-to-access-2007-command-reference-guide-HA010238899.aspx?CTT=5&origin=HA010229584

I just had it installed on my work comp. I looked under the obvious choice "Database Tools". Not there. I google up where it's at, and find out it's in "manage". Um...what? I want to go back to a classic menu, but I'm going to suck it up and give 2007 ribbon a shot, even if I don't agree with it sometimes.

You can resolve almost all corruption errors with Compact & Repair utility. But in some severe corruption scenarios, you are unable to resolve corruption error with this utility. When the Compact & Repair utility get failed to resolve corruption then you should use Access Database Recovery Software to resolve corruption & recover corrupt access database even after severe corruption.

Thanks for your help. There was actually a time in the distant past when Microsoft published User Manuals that came with the software and gave meaningful help. Today, the "help" files that come with the software, in lieu of a real User Manual, would be an embarassment to any professional with a smidgen of personal pride in their work.